We have already looked at how to correctly reference cases from England and Wales. Now, following on from this, as well as this post on referencing legislation from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, we will be finding out how to reference cases from Scotland. We will also consider the hierarchy of courts here, to give you a better idea of the underlying framework.
Court System
Like England and Wales, the Scottish court system is split into two distinct parts: criminal courts and civil courts. Criminal courts deal with cases against those who have committed a crime, prosecuting them or otherwise, whereas civil courts allow individuals and organisations a way to enforce their rights, given to them under the law.
Civil Courts
Civil courts will also deal with disputes arising between individuals or organisations. In Scotland, the party who brings the action against the other is called the pursuer (claimant in England and Wales) and the answering party is called the defender (defendant in England and Wales). Being familiar with these terms will make it easier for you to read cases, as well as discuss them in your writing.
The Scottish civil system is mostly separate from that of England and Wales, with just final appeals (apart from European ones) going to the UK Supreme Court and the specialist tribunals that operate all over the UK, such as employment tribunals.
The Sheriff Courts in Scotland can hear civil cases of first instance, under a judge or sheriff. Appeals from these can then stay inside the Sheriff Courts and simply move to a Sheriff Appeal Court, which usually has three sheriffs, but occasionally may have only one appeal sheriff.
Alternatively, cases of first instance may go to the Outer House of the Court of Session, which usually has just a judge, but may also have a jury of 12 people in complicated cases. Appeals from here pass to the Inner House of the Court of Session, which also hears appeals from the first instance Sheriff Courts. The Inner House appeal cases are typically heard by three judges, but possibly five or more for complex cases.
Criminal Courts
Criminal cases start in one of three places: a Justice of the Peace Court, a Sheriff Court or the High Court of Justiciary. They are also divided into two different types, which are summary and solemn, similar to how cases from England and Wales will be summary, indictable or either way.
In Scotland, a summary offence is one that is less serious and will be heard without a jury. One place a summary offence may be heard is a Justice of the Peace Court. Justices either sit alone or on a bench of three. These courts are used for the least serious of the summary offences, such as speeding and breach of the peace, although this will obviously depend on the exact facts of the case in question.
More serious, but still summary, offences may be heard in the summary case part of a Sheriff Court. The magistrates here, called Sheriffs, hear cases alone. There is no jury for summary offences.
Solemn offences are more serious than summary ones and so cannot be heard in a Justice of the Peace Court. The majority of them will be less serious (but still solemn) offences and so will be heard in a Sheriff Court. There will be a Sheriff and a jury present who will deliver the verdict.
The most serious of the solemn offences such as murder and rape are heard at first instance in the High Court of Justiciary. Here, cases are tried by a judge and a jury of 15 people. A solemn case of first instance starting in a Sheriff Court may be passed to the High Court of Justiciary before the verdict if new evidence is found.
Appeal Courts
There are also the appeal courts; firstly, the Sheriff Appeal Courts. These can only hear summary appeals, from either a Justice of the Peace Court or a Sheriff Court. The bench will have two or three Sheriffs, depending on the offence and appeal being heard.
The highest Scottish-based appeal court is the High Court of Justiciary. This can hear appeals from all of the other courts, including cases of first instance at itself. There will be at least three judges for an appeal against conviction and at least two for an appeal against sentence, but there may be more judges for complex or important cases.
However, as Scotland is still part of the UK, the UK’s Supreme Court is the highest court in Scotland, so appeals may pass to this or even a European Court whilst the UK is still part of the European Union.
Referencing Cases
The basic format for the citation of a Scottish case is:
Case name | Neutral citation (if possible), | Year | Law Report
Scotland has also used neutral citations since 2005, similar to England and Wales. For more information on neutral citations, you can see my blog about referencing cases from England and Wales. The neutral citations for Scotland use the following form for the different courts:
| Court | Citation |
| Court of Session, Inner House | [Year] CSIH Number |
| Court of Session, Outer House | [Year] CSOH Number |
| High Court of Justiciary (as trial court) | [Year] HCJT Number |
| High Court of Justiciary (as appeal court) | [Year] HCJAC Number |
As you can see, each number reference is an abbreviation of the relevant court, for example, HCJAC is High Court of Justiciary, Appeal Court.
Smart v HM Advocate [2006] HCJAC 12, 2006 JC 119.
However, you will also need to find a law report, as for cases in England and Wales. You can find more information about this in my blog about Law Report Hierarchy and Subsequent Citations.
In Scotland, the most authoritative law report series is Session Cases (SC), followed by the Scots Law Times (SLT). There’s also the Scottish Civil Law Reports (SCLR) and the Scottish Criminal Case Reports (SCCR).
Dodds v HM Advocate 2003 JC 8.
If there is not a neutral citation (i.e. the case is from before 2005), you should indicate whether cases in the Court of Session were heard in the Inner House or the Outer House by putting (IH) or (OH) in round brackets at the end of the citation.
Adams v Advocate General 2003 SC 171 (OH).
The year shouldn’t be put into square brackets if it is required to locate the case in a report series, just left without any brackets. It should be put into round brackets if the volumes of the report series are independently numbered.
The citation of a Scottish case should have no punctuation except to separate multiple pinpoints:
Crofters Commission v Scottish Ministers 2002 SLT (Land Ct) 19, 25.
There should also be a full stop if it is in a footnote.
Finally
Referencing cases from Scotland isn’t actually that different to referencing those from England and Wales, but it does help to have an idea of the court structure and procedure. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and stop by next time for referencing cases from Northern Ireland.
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